Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Now that I've posted about making homemade yogurt it's inevitable that a great coupon like this one becomes available from Yoplait. Even though one can make their own yogurt, sometimes it's good when you don't have to. Print this twice and cross your fingers that there will be a BOGO deal on YoPlus soon! You'll have to use Internet Explorer to print it because I can't seem to get a link for Firefox.

I love sharing deals with my readers! It's wonderful to be able to search all of the other great coupon and finance blogs to let you know what is out there. Having said that, my goal is to have a daily savings roundup shoeing the great deals that I have found that day. I'll be posting it in the afternoon/evening each day. I hope it helps everyone!

Sunday, December 27, 2009

We eat a lot of yogurt in our family. My baby especially loves it. The problem is, it can be pretty expensive if you can't find a good deal on it. Making yogurt is very simple and inexpensive. Also, by making my own yogurt, I control the ingredients that go in. A yogurt maker is not needed.

I buy my starter yogurt in the grocery store in a 32 ounce container. Plain is what you want. To make life easier, I spoon 2 TBS of yogurt into each section of an ice cube tray and freeze. Once frozen, I remove them from the tray and place in a zippered freezer bag for storage. You can re-culture yogurt from the yogurt you make, but after time that fizzles out and you'll need to use a new starter from the freezer. 32 ounces lasts a pretty good while.

Pour boiling water into the thermoses to sterilize them. You may also want to sterilize the thermometer and spoon that you use to stir the yogurt.

Heat the milk in a pan to 200 degrees. Hold the milk at that temperature for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, allow the milk to cool to 110 degrees. While the milk is cooling, pour the water out of the thermoses. You do not want them so hot that they kill the bacteria in the yogurt starter.

When the milk reaches 110 degrees, pour off 1 cup into another container and add the yogurt starter. Stir well and then add it back to the original pan of milk. Stir again. Now, pour this mixture into the thermoses and close tightly.

Allow it to incubate in a warm area for 12 hours. As the yogurt sits, it becomes thicker and more tart. Let it incubate until it has a flavor that you like. This yogurt is not going to be as gelatinous as commercial yogurt, but you'll become used to that.

After the yogurt is done, place it in the refrigerator and enjoy! You can sweeten it with sugar, honey, Splenda, etc. I like to add wheat germ and frozen fruit that I thaw and puree. Fresh fruit is good too.

Additional notes:

If you like a really thick yogurt, you can allow it to sit for 24 hours. You can also strain it like you would make a yogurt "cheese" for additional thickness.

A heating pad on low can be used to help hold the heat in the thermos if it's especially chilly.

If you prefer to use skim milk, add 1/2 cup of non-fat powdered milk to the mixture to help make the yogurt less watery.

I've added a vanilla bean to the cooking milk for vanilla yogurt. You can add a sweetener after it's incubated if you'd like.

Don't have a thermos? Put the yogurt in a jar with a lid and insulate by wrapping a towel around it.

The liquid that forms on top of the yogurt is the whey and can be stirred back in or poured off. Stirring it in will give you a more tart yogurt.

You can make creme fraiche with whipping cream by culturing it with a spoonful of your own live-culture yogurt and making it the same way.

While this is not a deal like some couponers get, I do try to buy items that we actually use. This weekly trip is $92.30 less than my old $150 a week budget. Therefore, I have a nice hunk to go into my savings account this week! This is the first time I have tried to figure out my actual cost before hand so I'll update after I shop and let you know how it goes.

I wanted to find some different recipes for using the leftover turkey from Christmas this year. Turkey salad gets a bit old after a while and isn't really pleasant to freeze. Here are a few that I'm going to be trying. We're a small family so a whole turkey, even though it's small, is going to last us a good long while. I'll do some changes to the original recipes to use what I have on hand and keep my costs low.

And last but not least, I'll use the turkey carcass to make turkey stock. I love, love, love homemade stock. It's much richer and more flavorful than the stuff you get in the grocery store. There is less sodium, it freezes well, and can save you a bit of money.

Add all ingredients to a stockpot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, then lower the temperature to low. Simmer for 2-3 hours. Strain through a colander with a coffee filter into a bowl. Allow to cool in the refrigerator. Once it's cool, I pour it into quart sized zip bags and freeze.

Copy and paste http://www.ahcleanfeeling.com into your web browser to be directed to a form to fill out for a free sample of Arm & Hammer toothpaste. Make sure you copy/paste or type it into your browser or you'll be redirected to something else on the Arm & Hammer website.

Friday, December 25, 2009

Thursday, December 24, 2009

At the beginning of November, my husband and I started to work on saving money and getting ourselves out of debt. I am very amazed by how we have done so far. We live on one income and have a 15 month old baby. Our goal is to get our emergency fund established ($1000) and 6 months of income saved in case of a job loss. Here's hoping that job loss won't happen!

What we have done so far:

Refinanced our car and paid off all credit card debt. Many financial savvy people don't advise this, but the credit cards we had were increasing interest rates and starting to charge annual fees. The car loan is at 6.75% interest which is much less than the credit card APRs. This is going to be paid off in two years or less.

Couponing (of course!) is the next thing we started. I check out the sales ads each week and purchase 2 Sunday papers. I have a coworker who gives any unused coupons to me as well. I match up the sales ads to the coupons with a lot of help from other sites like Hot Coupon World, Deal Seeking Mom, The Krazy Coupon Lady, Common Sense with Money, and Swaggrabber. I've learned that the best deals are usually deals that are buy one item, get one item free. You can use two coupons (one for each item) and that makes many things so very inexpensive, free, or even a money maker. Stacking store coupons and manufacturers coupons can also give you a good bargain on something. Doing this has cut our grocery bill almost $300!!!

The third thing that we have done is cut way back on eating at restaurants. Actually, that's what I have done. My husband doesn't eat at restaurants often at all. I usually eat breakfast at a fast food place and go to lunch with my best friend 2-4 times a month. While I haven't completely given it up, I'm working on it. I'm also trying to do better by taking my own lunch and drinks to work. If I can manage to take my lunch and drinks to work each day (instead of eating in the cafeteria) then I would save and additional $75 per month. I do drink soda which some frugal folks avoid, but I try to pay no more than $0.25 per can which is half of what I would pay at work.

By doing the three things above for almost two months, we managed to save around $417 which is almost half of the emergency fund. I never realized how much one could save with coupons and good sales.

Our savings would have been even more, but my husband and I bought ourselves a Flip UltraHD Camcorder. We did take a bit from the savings to purchase it. It was regularly priced at $149, but we paid around $117 after using Amazon gift cards that I received by searching with Swagbucks.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Sorry for the lack of updates lately. Work and the holidays has been keeping me busy. Anyway, without further ado...

Mercedes at Common Sense with Money has passed along some great information regarding Walgreens and coupons.

Can a customer use both a Manufacturer’s coupon and Walgreens coupon for the same item in a purchase?

One Walgreen and one manufacturer coupon can be used for the same item, unless either coupon prohibits such use.

Walgreens Roto Ad Coupons, Instant Value Coupons (IVC), and a manufacturer’s coupon can be used towards the purchase of any one item. “One coupon per purchase” means one coupon must be tendered for each PIECE sold.

What happens if the Manufacturer coupon’s value is more than the retail value?

Walgreens does not provide cash back if a coupon is presented for more than the purchase value of the item (e.g., the customer is using the coupon to purchase a clearance item).

If the retail of the item is less than the face value of the coupon:

the coupon value shall be the retail value if the state requires taxes to be paid on that item,

the coupon value shall be the retail value plus taxes if the state does not require taxes to be paid on the item.

Can a customer use a coupon after a sale has been made?

All valid coupons must be presented to the cashier at the time of sale only!

If there is no quantity limit on a Walgreens coupon can a manager impose his/her own limit?

Yes, managers have the right to limit the quantities of all advertised items.

Does Walgreens price match or accept coupons from other retailers?

Walgreens does not price match with other retailer.

Walgreens does not accept coupons from other retailers or coupons for products not carried in our stores.

Walgreens does not accept expired coupons.

A customer purchased an item using a manufacturer’s coupon and wants to return it. At what price do we return the item?

If an item purchased with a manufacturer’s coupon is returned, the customer will get the retail price of the item. If the customer purchased an item with a Walgreens coupon, the customer receives the price paid.

Example 1: If the retail price for an item is $1.49 and the manufacturers coupon was 25¢ off, the refund amount would be $1.49 plus tax.

Example 2: If the retail price for an item is $1.49 and the Walgreens coupon was 25¢ off, the refund amount would be $1.24 plus tax.

Get a free photo calendar at American Greetings Photoworks when you buy one. Select your calendar, upload your photos, then create it! When you check out, enter coupon code BOGOCAL to get your free calendar when you buy one.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Jergens is offering a $1/1 printable internet coupon on their Jergens Naturals Daily Moisturizer. This coupon has a far away expiration date of 1-14-2010! It may be rolling depending on when you print it.

You can print a new $5 off $20 purchase coupon from Sav-A-Lot here. It's expiration date is not until 1-10-2010! If you have a grocery store that price matches competitor's coupons then this is also for you. They also have a great list of printable coupons. One of my favorites is the $1/1 Mrs. Smith's Assorted Pies! Yum! I like to get two and use them for the BOGO deals at the grocery store when they have them.

Monday, December 14, 2009

While this is not the moneymaker it was last week, it's still a pretty darn good deal. When you register here at BeneVia you'll be allowed to print a $5/1 four pack of nutrition drinks. When you purchase BeneVia at Publix and use the $3/1 Publix coupon from the Green Advantage Flyer you can get it for as low as $0.49! Regional prices may vary.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

The main reason for us to start using coupons is to lower our spending and save more. We want to have a nicely built emergency fund as well as money for big budget items. Our goal is to pay cash for everything. While working toward this goal, I am doing a lot of reading about finances and here are some articles that I enjoy.

One great tip from this article is the tip to not buy cookbooks. A few months ago, I tossed ALL of my cookbooks except for one favorite from a locally owned restaurant. I'm able to go to many websites on the internet and find pretty much any recipe I need. If that recipe becomes a favorite, it goes into our "family cookbook" that we made from a photo album.

I love The Simple Dollar blog. I have read and re-read many of his posts. One day, I'll be brave enough to comment! Trent's blog is what really got me started thinking about my personal finance. In fact, I'm going to throw another article out there by Trent at The Simple Dollar.

Dunkin Donuts has the DD Perks Program. You can go HERE to enroll in the program (free and no obligation). When you register, you'll be entered in a special promotion to win coffee for a whole year. Every week they will pick a winner who will receive 2 lbs. of Dunkin Donuts Coffee delivered to their door every month for a year. You DO NOT have to purchase a perks card to be eligible to win. Once enrolled, you are automatically entered. When you fill out your enrollment form enter the promotion code DDPERKS Coffee at the bottom of the form and they will snail mail you a coupon for a free coffee at any Dunkin Donuts location!

After printing some coupons today at Coupons.com I noticed a bunch of links with offers from Coupons.com partner's websites. Bausch & Lomb have a great deal of coupons and rebate offers here. Know of any great ways to use these? Tell us about it!

Friday, December 11, 2009

Get $5 off when you purchase Hill's Science Diet Nature's Best dog or cat food. You can find the coupons here. It's printable only one time.

You'll need to register for the coupon. I'd like to recommend making an additional email address through Yahoo! or Gmail especially for situations like this (registering for coupons) that way you don't have your main email address flooded with news, promotions, etc. Those emails will go to your "coupon" email for you to peruse at your leisure.

Betty Crocker Premium Muffin Mix BOGO $2.59- Use two $.50/1 PRINTABLE coupon- if Fiber One is included$.79 each after coupons

General Mills Cereal BOGO $3.49- Chex Cereals, Cocoa Puffs, Trix, or Golden Grahams- Use the $1/2 coupon found in the 11-08-09 SS insert- or use the $1/2 PRINTABLE coupon- or use two $.75/1 PRINTABLE or PRINTABLE Cocoa Puffs coupon- or use the $1/2 PRINTABLE or PRINTABLE Chex coupon$.99 to $1.24 each after coupons

Hunt’s Tomatoes BOGO $1.39- Use the $1/3 PRINTABLE coupons (end of game)- or use the $1/4 coupon in the Dec All You Magazine$.36 to $.44 each after coupons

There's another opportunity to print the $1/1 Toaster Strudel coupon. Last time this coupon was available, Toaster Strudel was priced at $1.45 at Walmart which made these $0.45 a box after coupon. Even if it's not on sale, Walmart's price of $1.97 still makes it a good deal!

I had a busy day yesterday, so I did not do a blog post. Being new to couponing means that my coupons are still not organized. The organization method I am using is called the binder method. I could not find trading card inserts at my local Walmart so I purchased them on Amazon.com for $18.42. While I was there, I also purchased The Complete Tightwad Gazette since I have been wanting to read it.

I have about a bazillion coupons and it's taking me a long time to get each category organized. I've done about 10 so I'm halfway there! Once it's done, I'll post a picture and my thoughts about it.

Friday, December 4, 2009

Not only do I love ice cream, I love flavored coffee creamer as well. And this is an awesome deal! When you become a fan of International Delight on Facebook, you will get the opportunity to print 2 coupons for a pint of FREE creamer! How great is that?

Thursday, December 3, 2009

This cute little Christmas tree is a cool freebie, but one that might arrive AFTER Christmas. It will be good for next year though. Just fill out the form here and you'll get notification that it should arrive in 6-8 weeks. There will be a pop up window that might come up. I just closed it out.

e.l.f. Cosmetics always has a great offer going on. I just received an email that offers a free mini makeup collection ($15.00 value) with any purchase. Just use the coupon code LOYAL. You can choose one $1 item from e.l.f and add the coupon code at checkout. Shipping is just $6.95 which means this is a great deal at $7.95! I ordered the nourishing cuticle pen since my cuticles always look so rough. What will you get?

Me, I love ice cream. So when I see a coupon for ice cream (any brand) I snatch that baby up. I'm one that will try to get 2-4 of the ice cream coupons. Especially if I can find a great B1G1 deal. Print out a couple of these $1/1 Blue Bell ice cream coupons here.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Buy groceries with your NEW Customer Reward Card and never pay full price for gas again with fuelperks! In order to earn fuelperks, you must sign up for your new Winn-Dixie Customer Reward Card. When you use your card, you will continue to receive in-store savings on thousands of items throughout the store. Additionally, you will begin earning fuelperks! Visit the Winn Dixie Customer Service Desk and sign up today.

As you can see, my cheesecake has a GINORMOUS crater in it!!! My dingbat self accidently set the temperature to 375F instead of 325F so it cooked faster than it needed to. Learn from my mistakes, folks!

Get them while the getting's good! Normally, these Swagbucks gift cards for Paypal are 70 Swagbucks, but you can get them right now for only 55 Swagbucks! What a deal! This is the best bang for your buck after the Swagbucks $5 Amazon gift card.

First things first - get your coupons for Philadelphia Cream Cheese here.

So, I'm making a cheesecake for a co-worker's belated birthday. This is the second one I have made in the past couple of months. That's a lot of cheesecakes (and baking) for me. I decided I should search for some tips on how to make the "perfect" cheesecake.

Some of the things I found:

Make sure your cold ingredients (eggs, cream cheese, etc.) have been brought to room temperature before mixing the cheesecake filling.

Don't skip on the fat content. Use full fat cream cheese and sour cream, not that light stuff! Of course, my last cheesecake was made with that Neufa(unpronouncable named) cheese.

Beat the cream cheese by itself before adding other ingredients.

Don't overmix. This will introduce too much air into the batter.

Cook slowly at a low temperature.

Cool slowly in a draft free area.

Most importantly, DON'T PEEK! Unless you just look through the oven window, that is.

Since I spoke about coupon policies in my last post, I decided to post the policies of the stores where I shop. While I keep them in my coupon binder in a file type pocket, I will be transferring them to protective sleeves soon.

Without further ado, here are the coupon policies for the stores where I shop the most.

Not in the beginning, no. Today is the one month anniversary of my affair with couponing and saving on groceries, personal care items, and oodles of other things.

This is a developing relationship. Learning how to play the coupon game is challenging, but can also be very rewarding. Of course, there are limitations. First, I'm in Florida which is the Land of No Doubling. Apparently, there is not enough competition in the grand state of Florida to make stores want to be more competitive. Then, you have clerks and managers who don't know the coupon policies of the store that they work in.

**Tip - Carry the coupon policies of each store where you shop. I carry mine in my coupon binder and whip it out if/when needed. Some stores update their policies frequently so you might want to check their website once every couple of months to see if anything changed.

So it begins... Here I will blog my relationship with coupons and see if we are a fit. From my perspective, I think we are. It just takes time and patience, just like any relationship.